A public feud reignites as Owens disputes security claims, turning a campus cancellation into a poli
The simmering feud between political commentator Candace Owens and Erika Kirk flared back into public view this week after Kirk abruptly withdrew from a Turning Point USA event at the University of Georgia — an appearance that was set to include Vice President JD Vance.
Kirk, 37, announced her decision on X on Tuesday, April 14, citing concerns for her family’s safety. Her post described a deep personal calculus shaped by grief and caution: after everything her family had endured, she wrote, she takes her security team’s recommendations with the utmost seriousness.
The explanation, however, did not sit well with everyone.
Owens retorts, disputes the narrative
Within hours, Owens, 36, took to X to challenge the account directly. In a pointed post, she alleged that the real reason for Kirk’s absence was poor ticket sales — not security threats — and drew a parallel to what she described as a quietly rescheduled Turning Point USA Faith event, a division of the organization that had been set to host a pastors’ summit in Texas on April 21.
Owens further questioned Kirk’s credibility, pressing her to produce video evidence of Charlie Kirk — Turning Point USA’s co-founder and Erika’s late husband — appointing her as CEO in the weeks before his death. Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while delivering remarks at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10, 2025. He was 31.
The security debate
Owens went further, directly undermining the security rationale. She argued that because the Secret Service operates with authority above any private security team, a credible threat would have resulted in Vance canceling the event altogether — not proceeding with it. Since the event went forward, she reasoned, no such threat existed.
Vance, 41, offered a different account from the stage. He told the crowd that he had received word of serious threats directed at Kirk about two hours before the event was scheduled to begin, and that he and event organizers had briefly considered calling it off entirely. Ultimately, he said, he encouraged Kirk to do what was right for herself and her family.
Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet echoed that sentiment, stepping in for Kirk and telling attendees her absence was the direct result of serious threats — a situation he described as a troubling reflection of the country’s current climate.
Owens targets the organization’s PR strategy
Owens reserved her sharpest criticism not just for Kirk, but for the team surrounding her. She suggested that Turning Point USA’s communications staff was operating under the mistaken belief that it could outsmart the public — and that the public was not, in fact, fooled.
The broadside landed as the latest volley in what has become one of the more prominent internal disputes within conservative media circles since Charlie Kirk’s death last fall. Owens and Erika Kirk have clashed repeatedly in the months since, with Owens previously releasing audio she claimed showed Kirk discussing merchandise sales in the immediate aftermath of her husband’s assassination.
Vance defends Kirk
Amid the crossfire, Vance offered Kirk an unusually personal defense. He pushed back against those who had publicly questioned the sincerity of her grief, calling such criticism baseless and urging critics to refrain from attacking a grieving mother over the manner in which she mourns. His remarks drew a clear line between his own loyalty to Kirk and the broader debate swirling around her public role at Turning Point USA.
The episode underscores how the organization — once defined almost entirely by Charlie Kirk’s outsized public persona — continues to navigate the complicated terrain of leadership, legacy, and loyalty in his absence.
Source: US Weekly